The Apocalypse, Eh?
by Miss Novella
Summary: When a class trip goes horribly wrong six Canadian teenagers find themselves stranded in the USA. By horribly wrong, I mean people have started eating each other. Lovely. Join their quest to return home and see if Raye's hamster Bruce is still alive. Oh, and their families too.
1. Chapter 1

The chipped powder blue walls of the teachers lounge contrasts the oak hardwood floors. Two dark shaded couches sit across from each other, a glass coffee table in between. A vending machine sits beside the door, reading to block off the entrance if need be. Near the windows a long wooden desk littered with school supplies rest, furnished with a few office chairs.

Lounging on one of the couches Josh sighs and runs a hand through his chocolate coloured hair. The sixteen year old wore his typical camo hoodie along with matching cargo pants. On his feet were his beloved steel toe boots which he had stomped many undead heads in with. They glinted,  
recently polished. His ocean shaded eyes rest on the back of an office chair.

"So," Josh starts nonchalantly,"What's next? Maintenance, or a supply run? Scouting? We could continue your experiments maybe? Those are always fun." He says, ending with a grin.

The office chair spins around to reveal a pale girl with shoulder length black twin tails. Her grey green eyes gleam with intelligence behind her rectangular shaped glasses. Mary wore a light grey long sleeved shirt with a black vest reaching to her hips. Around her waits was a reddish brown belt which held a dagger.  
Adorning her legs was a pair of black spandex leggings matched with navy blue converse.

With a deadpan expression Mary tilts her head, straight cut bangs parting slightly, "Your untimely demise, brother dear. A fitting end to the first part of my evil scheme."

The brunette lounging next to Josh raises his eye brow skeptically before dismissing her statement, "We all know you're secretly a big softie Mary. Anyways,  
if anyone was creating an evil scheme it would be Leon. Just look at that grin and tell me he isn't up to something."

Oliver glances at said boy and adjusts his deep purple hoodie vest that covers his long sleeved black shirt. Dark blue jeans reach down to his grey sneakers and on his back a modified quiver holds a bloodied baseball bat.

Looking at Oliver ominously, Leon grins darkly, "I like blood."

Swiping his dark, almost black hair out of his face Leon's brown eyes glint with mischief. The second eldest of the group had dark tanned skin and a forest green T-shirt. He wore a pair of spandex jeans for maximum flexibility. A quiver holding twenty or so arrows rests on his back. On his feet are a pair of Nike sneakers he swiped from a story during a raid.

The tanned teen looks over to his girl friend, Raye, who sat next to him on the couch opposed to Josh and Oliver, "Cuddles?" He asks sweetly.

The auburn haired fourteen year old scoots towards her boyfriend and snuggles into his side, her hazel eyes meeting Mary's amused glance.

Raye wore a dark red tank top covered with a tan leather jacket. She wore a pair of grey spandex shorts over her black leggings. Her sneakers are black with dirtied batman laces. Reddish shaded hair is pulled into a low ponytail reaching her mid back.

Rolling her eyes with a fond smile, Mary focuses on Josh, seriously answering his previous question, "Though I would like to do more research I do not feel comfortable keeping a live walker in the school. It's too much of a hazard."

Oliver nods in agreement, "And plus, I doubt that you could learn much more without a proper lab anyways. The infirmary doesn't have the right equipment. So we should go for supplies and fix up the barriers. That chain fence isn't going to last long if we don't reinforce it. What do you think, Josh?"

Josh hums slightly, thinking, "We wouldn't have the time or the supplies to support it by building another wall. Something that can be moved easi-"

"The school buses!" Mary exclaims, "We can move them beside the fence. I'm pretty sure they could hold it up."

Oliver nods thoughtfully, "That might just work. It will cause a noticeable amount of noise though."

Looking away from his girlfriend, Leon says, "But we're not close to any walker hot spots. Although we'll have to be careful. We are on the outskirts of Atlanta, and this is unfamiliar territory to us."

Raye sighs, "I wonder how Canada is doing. I wish we were at home."

Huffing, Mary pushes her glasses up, "Don't wish for things like that. It's easier down here. We don't have emotional connections with this place and there are way more guns and weapons here."

Josh jumps up and strides to the smashed vending machine and pulls a pepsi can out. Opening it he takes a sip and frowns, "Flat."

"No shit, thats been there for a month." Raye retorts sarcastically.

"Anyways," Josh says, glaring at Raye jokingly, "What's the plan for tomorrow?"

Mary turns to the desk and picks up her leather bound book and opens it, "Leon and Raye will go to the corner store they went to last time and clear it out. Oliver and Josh will go to the apartment complex across from there and look for supplies. While we do have a large amount of food and medicine already, we need enough to last and while winter won't be harsh it still may make things difficult. Corrine and I will stay here and do the mundane tasks. The day after tomorrow we'll deal with the fence problem."

The door opening, Corrine walks into the room with a sucker in her mouth, "What about me?"

"You have guard duty tomorrow bae." Oliver replies as she drops onto the couch beside him.

Corrine was fair skinned with freckles spilling across her cheeks and nose. A purple headband pushed back her light brown braided hair. She wore a brown and black wind breaker and dark blue jeans. Black riding boots reach up to her mid calf.

Mary nods, "I'll also edit the schedule so we can all have more free time, I don't want to work you guys too much. I already feel bad enough for not doing as much work as everyone else."

Raye frowns and protests loudly, "Nope, you don't get to say that. You saved us and have been working your ass off teaching yourself about medicine to help us.  
Hell, you found the school and have been organizing everything. You do just as much as us, just not physically."

Nodding in agreement Corrine adds, "Plus you've been exercising daily and have been taking vitamins so you can catch up to us. You also have anemia, so don't worry about it."

"I... Thank you." Mary says softly with a small smile, before looking at the group and pushing her glasses up again, "Remember children, stay with your buddy at all times."

Josh jumps onto the couch, holding up the can of Pepsi high above his head, "I want to get a big bottle of pop too!"  
Glancing at him with a smirk Mary scoffs, "God Josh, get with the times. We're in the U.S. It's soda."

Oliver snorts and rolls his eyes.

Raye stands up and stares at Mary with determined eyes, "If Josh gets a pop can I get a chocolate bar?"

"I miss my chocolate milk." Leon sulks, eyeing the vending machine.

Shrugging Mary replies, "As long as you collect sufficient supplies, Raye."

"Mary please stop using such freaking huge ass words." Raye sasses.

Josh replies with a grin, "It's not her fault you can't english Raye."

"Bitches be snitching." Laughs Leon slyly.

Everyone but Raye snorts as her face quickly turns bright red, "Don't fucking start with me. I'll end you all!"

Poking her nose, Leon's grin widens, "I'm sure you will, my fluffy bunny of doom and despair."

Wisely, Mary hides her smirk behind her black writing book while everyone else laughs.

She stands up and sticks her tongue out and then proceeds to walk away. Leon grabs her hand and pulls her back with a wink.

Even redder she glares and the huffs, "Whatever."

Josh then launches himself onto of the couple, "Surprise snuggle attack!"

Corrine chokes on air and starts laughing while Oliver comments with amusement, "Josh uses snuggle, it's super effective."

Watching Leon and Raye try to escape from Josh, Mary sighs and smiles fondly, "Idiots."

Glancing at Mary despairingly, Oliver says, "It's too late Mary. We're surrounded by extroverts. Run while you still have energy left."

Putting a hand to her forehead Mary fake swoons, "Oh, woe is me! I shall not abandon my fellow introvert to thine's cruel fate. Should ye parish than I shall as well."

Corrine deadpans, "How the hell have we survived this long?"

Shrugging, Oliver replies, "Dumb luck."

With a snort Mary stands and walks towards the window. Looking out, she watches the undead littering the fence. There weren't many of them. Yet. As one picks up a rock and the clumsily drops it her eyes narrow.

"What are you doing over there Mary?" Josh asks as he rolls off of Leon and Raye.

Not wanting to ruin the mood, she smiles slightly, "Just thinking, nothing really. So who's cooking tonight?" She smoothly asks, changing the subject.

"Not Raye, please anyone but her!" Josh pleads.

"Oi!" Said girl shouts at him.

Rolling her eyes Mary smirks, "Of course. Like I'd let Raye cook. Remember last time? You literally dropped an entire pot of boiling water with twelve Mr. Noodle packages in it."

"Hush, you know nothing."

* * *

*Anemia: a condition marked by a deficiency of red blood cells or of hemoglobin in the blood, resulting in pallor and weariness.


	2. Chapter 2

-Next Day-

In the brightly lit concrete gym, Mary struggles as she does her twenty first push up, exhaling loudly. She internally regrets being so lazy about exercising before the world went to shit. Her head is pounding with a migraine. Gritting her teeth she forces herself to continue.

Shaking her head, Corrine chuckles lightly at her friend. As a member of the rugby team back in Canada and a sea cadet she was always quite fit. However, Corrine had always been in awe of Mary's crazy high metabolism. It had never allowed her to get too chubby despite the fact she ate mostly starch and rarely exercised. It seems like karma is finally getting the better of her.

Rolling on to her back Mary glares at the brunette as she reaches for her glasses and a water bottle, "Laugh all you want, Corrine. Vengeance shall be mine."

Scoffing, Corrine rolls her eyes, "That's what you always say."

Narrowing her eyes slightly as she puts her glasses back on Mary replies loftily, "No one plans a murder out loud, sister dear."

"As if you could physically take me on." Corrine snarks back teasingly.

The noirette smiles darkly at her friend, "I don't need physical power to defeat you, silly rabbit. I have all the necessary ingredients in the chemistry lab."

Corrine huffs as she walks towards the exit of the gym, crow bar fitted snugly in her hand, "I'm going to go check the fence. If i'm not back in thirty minutes something has happened."

Her playful expression shifting into a more serious one Mary nods, "And be careful around the south end, it's gotten a bit wobbly around there. I have some ideas to discuss with everyone so I'll prepare everything in an empty class room. Scream loud as you can if you need my help, but only if it's an emergency."

Corrine nods in affirmation, and then exits the gymnasium.

* * *

-With Josh and Oliver-

Glancing at the fellow brunette, Josh tilts his head slightly, silently asking which way they should go. Oliver tilts his head left, nervously gripping the wooden baseball bat. Grimly Josh nods and the two of them turn around the corner, that thankfully lead to an empty, although creepy and dark hallway. Quietly the two make their way through the different apartments, grabbing supplies from each place they enter.

"Hey," Josh whispers to Oliver quietly, getting the other boy's attention.

Oliver quickly turns around to see Josh gripping a 2L of orange pop with an excited smile.

"No." He deadpans with a glare followed closely after, "It'll be too heavy to carry."

"Please?" Josh whines hopefully, "I'll even share it with everyone if I have to."

Sighing Oliver gives in, knowing that he would find a way to bring it anyways, "Okay fine, but you're carrying it. Just be quiet."

"Score!" Josh whispers gleefully as he shrugs off his backpack and puts the pop inside it.

Rolling his eyes and shaking his head in exasperation, Oliver finishes checking the final apartment of the complex. Turning back into the kitchen, Oliver freezes and drops behind the breakfast bar. A walker was stumbling its way around the cooking area, splattering guts and blood all over the white tiles as it walked. It was one of the more grotesque zombies he had seen. Forcing down the urge to puke, Oliver stealthily pulls out his baseball bat and shuffles to the edge of the counter, getting ready to spring at the zombie when it turns its back.

"LEEROY JENKINS!" Josh yells quietly as he busts into the room, sliding on the tiles and swinging his axe like a madman. The zombie's head is split open, brain matter splattering on the breakfast bar, fortunately avoiding the crouching boy.

Standing up, Oliver gapes at him for a moment as Josh pulls the axe from the walkers head. Walking over to the bright blue curtain, he calmly wipes the brain, skull and hair off of his now shiny axe.

"I killed it dead." He states proudly.

Choking on air Oliver quickly restrains the urge to face palm and then states in a low voice, "Let's go meet up with with Raye and Leon."

With a chipper attitude Josh takes lead as Oliver follows behind, shaking his head in disbelief.

* * *

-With Leon and Raye-

"Chocolate!" Raye exclaims quietly as she dumps all the candy bars into her backpack with a bright smile. Watching her Leon shrugs and starts to do the same, cramming all the sweets he can find into his own bag.

"Look for love as sweet as cherry lollipops

Find a crush like white vanilla cream

Once again they hide themselves away from me

Cannot see the forest for the trees

Bit by bit I taste bit of apple rain

Knowing something good is soon to come

Breathe it in like candy-coated sugar cane

Happiness is now falling from above."

Raye sings softly as she continues pilling all sorts of confections into her bag.

Leon glances at his girlfriend, raising an eyebrow, "Shouldn't we be getting something else as well?"

With a sly smirk Raye shrugs nonchalantly, twisting a strand of her hair, "Mary never specifically said what type of supplies. This is still food after all."

Glancing at her thoughtfully Leon nods, "True, true."

The doors of the convenience store suddenly burst open as Josh and Oliver tumble through them and quickly lock the door behind them.

Smiling sheepishly, Josh scratches the back of his neck, "I may have, uh, made some noise and attracted a few of the undead. Heh heh... whoops."

Leon's eyes narrow calculatingly, and with a sigh he says, "The roof. We can jump onto the fire escape on the building next to the store. It's not that far of a jump. Maybe three feet, four feet."

Hearing pounding at the door the four quickly rush through the trashed aisles to the roof of the shop, heading to the top.

Upon reaching the roof, Leon immediately drops his backpack,"I'll go first since I'm the fastest. I'll be able to catch you guys if you fall."

Taking a few steps back, Leon breaks out in a sprint and leaps across the gap, easily landing on the fire escape with grace. Picking up Leon s bag, Corrine tosses it across the gap. Next, Oliver pushes his bag into Josh s arms and shifts back a couple of steps. Surging towards the edge, he too makes it across with ease. Corrine drops her bag and without having anytime to doubt herself she makes the jump. However, she lands awkwardly on the railing, teetering precariously.

The two boys leap forward and help the auburn haired girl up. Not a second later Josh and the two backpacks come flying over, landing on top of Oliver.

"I'm getting real tired of your shit Josh."

"Hehe, I know."

* * *

-With Corrine-

Corrine hated patrolling the school, especially alone. It was a dangerous but necessary job, and she felt flattered that Mary is alright with her going off on herself. She usually had people split into two groups of threes, rather than three groups of twos like today so that the people patrolling would have a partner.

Cautiously she observes the fence, noting the slight bend of its position. "This is going to be a problem," She states out loud.

She was glad that they had already came to a solution concerning the fence. While the downstairs of the school was completely boarded off and the entrances and stair cases blocked off by stacks of desks bound together with metal wire and duct tape, it would make it nearly impossible to exit the area.

Corrine sneers at the dead, feeling grateful they had been in another country. After all, she needn't feel bad for killing someone she knew. Leaning against the wall of the school, she thinks about the beginning of the outbreak. If it wasn't for Mary s intervention, things would have gone a lot worse. If she had obeyed the teacher instead of Mary's advice... Corrine cringes.

-Flashback-

"Okay class, calm down. Just get onto the bus and we ll go to the evacuation center. One by one now everyone," Ms. Leblanc calls as students line up outside of the bus.

Looking to the side, Corrine watches Mary speaking with Josh, Leon, and Oliver with a serious expression. While that was no surprise, what truly concerned her was Josh. He was never, ever serious. Approaching them nervously she spoke up, "Everyone's leaving now. We should go now so we can get good seats."

"We can't go on that bus." Mary states bluntly, her eyes narrowed at Henry, a boy who had recently become ill.

Oliver frowns and adjusts his backpack, "It seems like a long shot though. What if it's really nothing?"

"Then we'll say we got lost in the woods after one of those freaky people chased us. Leon, please go get Raye before she boards the bus." Mary says calmly, quietly taking control of the situation.

Nodding, Leon walks towards the line.

"That kid, Henry, is showing all of the symptoms of being infected by one of them. I was on 4Chan earlier, people are posting like crazy about all of this undead shit. It's not just a trend, it's real. Imagine what happens when that kid turns. It will be a bloodbath. Not only that, but the roads will undoubtedly be crowded. Those things will be everywhere. It's better to be safe than sorry." Mary speaks in a low voice, stressing the danger they are in.

"I...okay, I'll go with you." Oliver sighs, running a hand through his hair nervously.

Josh nods, "You've never let me down before. I'm in."

"So are we." Leon adds as he returns holding Raye's hand.

Corrine frowns in confusion, "What about the others? Are we just not going to tell them?"

Mary's eyes harden, "If this is going the way I think it will, they'll just slow us down. Not only that, but they wouldn't believe us either."

Oliver nods but looks away with an uncomfortable expression, "Isn't that immoral?"

"Fuck morality." Leon states bluntly, "The world has just changed and from what Mary has been saying we're not on top of the food chain anymore. They are ignorant, and will likely die. If you still feel bad about that, then call it natural selection."

"...I understand." Oliver replies simply, his resolve solidified.

Looking at her boyfriend in exasperation, Corrine sighs irritably, "If we get in trouble I blame you, Mary. Let's get out of here."

The group casually walks into the forest, hiding among the tree, waiting for the bus to leave. After a few moments of watching students started screaming. The six watched Henry through the bus window leap at the girl sitting next to him and take a huge chunk out of her neck. Blood splatters the window. The boy sitting across from him is the next victim.

"You... you were right." Corrine breathes in horror.

Oliver frowns and looks away from the gruesome sight of their classmates tearing each other apart, while Josh clenches his fists but refrains from reacting otherwise. Raye has tears in her eyes, but she still forced a smile on her face, "Haha... Mary's right, as usual."

Mary pushes up her glasses, her face unreadable, "...Sooner than predicted."

"How can you say that?" Corrine demands in shock.

Mary glances at her friend sharply, "They are not people anymore. I am compacting my emotions at the moment so I can help you all deal with this. Leon and I will take control for now since we are the only two capable of rational thinking at the moment."

"And you?" Corrine asks Leon with a grief stricken expression.

He shrugs nonchalantly, "I never really cared about them."

"Enough! We need to leave now. Walk in groups of two. Leon, you're with Raye, Corrine and Josh, and myself and Oliver. Now let's go."

-End Flashback-

Sighing, Corrine climbs the ladder back up to the second floor and then pulls it back up after her.

One day, She whispers to herself, I hope everything will go back to how it was before.

* * *

Authors Note:

*When Mary calls the characters as brother sister it doesn't mean they are actually related. Josh is Mary's childhood friend, so she considers him her brother. Since Oliver is his best friend, he is her brother as well. Corrine is Oliver's girlfriend so she is her sister. Raye is Mary's best friend, so she is a sister, and Leon is her boyfriend. In her mind Leon and Corrine are like step siblings.

*Leeroy Jenkins is the name of a WOW character that is known for screaming out his name before ignorantly charging headlong into battle, killing everyone in his party.

*The song is called Candy Candy. I took the English lyrics from JubyPhonic.

*Mary, Leon and Josh are 16

*Corrine and Oliver are 15

*Raye is 14

Review and tell me who your favourite character is! I really want to know.

* * *

-Extra-

Mary's face darkens ominously when she goes through the supplies that the group collected for the day.

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. Twinkies. Gummy worms, Sweet Tarts, Skittles, M&M's, Rockets, Swedish Berries, Fuzzy Peaches.

The black haired girl twitches as she moves to the next bag. _More_ chocolate. Chips, Jolly Ranchers, marsh mellows, more god damn _Twinkies._

Moving onto the last bag she freezes when she opens it. _Pop._

 **"RAYE! LEON! JOSH!"**

* * *

"I just got a chill down my back." Raye says, glancing at her boyfriend who was lounging on the couch next to her.

The door is busted open by Josh who had a frantic look on his face, _"She knows."_

Raye and Leon pale.

"We're doomed." The three say in unison, a cloud of despair hanging over their heads.


	3. Chapter 3

Having arrived at the school ten minutes earlier, Raye and Josh pout as Corrine, Oliver, and Mary get first dibs on the sweets they had brought back from their outing. With her glasses glinting in the sunlight, Mary picks up the 2L of orange pop and stares Josh in the eye as she opens it. Scowling, said teen looks away and says sulkily, "This isn't fair."

Scoffing as she pushes her glasses up Mary replies, "Then maybe you shouldn't have collected pop, huh?"

Meeting her gaze evenly, "I told you beforehand though," He replies cheekily with a smirk, "and you didn't say I couldn't."

Sighing with exasperation Mary turns her attention to the youngest of the group. Shifting awkwardly with a guilty grin Raye shrugs as Mary frowns at her, "I thought it would be nice to get something else for a change."

Mary nods in understanding, "Yes, I would not be adverse to that, but I cannot allow you to eat any of the chocolate or acidic candy. You have a stomach ulcer, Raye. We have to be careful about that you eat, you can't just go to the hospital if it gets bad and I don't have the supplies nor the knowledge to help if something happens."

Raye huffs dismissively, "I'm sure you could think of something Mary, you always do."

Mary turns away and massages her temples, trying to soothe her stress induced headache. She sighs again, "Okay. Whatever, just don't come crying to me when your stomach starts hurting."

Squealing in delight Raye lunges forwards and squeezes Mary tightly, "Thank you so much! You're the best," she exclaims as she then lets go, quickly grabbing a Mars bar and shoving it into her mouth.

Shaking her head with a fond smile she turns towards Josh, holding the pop out to him, "I can't hold a grudge against you two idiots."

"I said it, and I'll say it again," Oliver laughs with a mischievous grin from his place next to Corrine, "You are a huge softy, even if you won't admit it."

Turning away from the group Mary picks up her black notebook, "I have no idea what you're talking about. Anyways, when you've finished with the diabetes party, I'll be waiting for you lot in the chemistry lab. You four, "She says looking at Leon, Oliver, Josh, and Raye, "Need to have a check up. Then I have some theories I'd like to share. Sound good?"

Oliver nods, "I'll come with you. Don't want to catch all the stupid that they're spreading," He says quietly with a smirk as the two exit the teacher's lounge.

Mary chuckles lightly as she leads the way to the lab. Shooting a concerned glance at the frown on his face she quietly says, "How are you dealing with all of this? I know it isn't easy, but..."

"You don't want one of us having a mental breakdown." Oliver replies bluntly with a wry smile.

"I did not intend it to sound like that." She replies, her normal calm demeanor shifting into a more gentle and nurturing manner.

Waving his hand dismissively Oliver smiles, "I know. In all honesty I am okay. It just seems so... surreal, like a dream almost. But the type of person who could dream this sort of thing up would have to be a psychopath."

"I agree. Whoever made this virus must surely be a horrible person. I doubt this disease just suddenly evolved on it's own out of no wheres." Mary says as she swings the door to the lab open.

The room is dark, all of the desks and chairs removed to block off the entrances leaving only the teachers desk,an office chair and a long marble counter attached to the wall along with a couple of stools. On the other side of the room, they had moved the cots from the infirmary upstairs so that they would be easily accessible. Two cloth room dividers separate the two areas.

Looking around the dark lab covered with papers and scattered notebooks he snorts, "I pegged you as an organized person, Mary."

Defensively she glares at the brown eyed boy, "Everything is in order. It's just..."

"Organized chaos. I get it." Oliver finishes as he takes a seat on one of the stools.

Dropping her black notebook on the teachers desk, Mary strides over to the closet. She quickly pulls on a lab coat, plastic gloves, safety goggles, and a surgical mask. Grabbing a basket of medical supplies and a thick medical encyclopedia she places them onto the desk as well. Looking up at Oliver she says, "Throw me that red notebook will you? That's the one with all of your guy's medical information."

"Got it." He calls as he tosses the blood red book to her.

As the noirette organizes her supplies, the door opens and the other four survivors stroll in. Looking up she nods towards the line of stools, "Go sit down, I'll be over in a moment."

As Raye, Josh and Leon take a seat, Corrine leans against the opposite wall, watching with interest as Mary deposits the basket onto an office chair and pushes it over to Leon, the closest person to her.

Pulling a stethoscope out of the basket she checks the dark haired boy's heart rate, carefully taking notes in the red book. She then moves on to the other three, nothing out of the ordinary.

"While you lot were out did you come into close contact with one of the diseased?" She asks as she takes a thermometer out and gives it to Leon who obediently takes his temperature.

Josh grins widely, "Yeah, I smashed ones head in. It was great."

Mary nods and asks, "Did you come into contact with any of its body fluids?"

"Nope, that's too nasty for me. I made sure to stay clear of any of the gore. I like my camo hoodie too much to get it all bloody." he replies as Oliver sends him a disbelieving glance before rolling his eyes in exasperation.

Corrine huffs, "So typical."

Sending Corrine an amused glance, Mary pulls the thermometer out of Leon's mouth and checks the temperature.

"98.6, perfectly average." Mary says as she disinfects it, then passes it to Raye.

Leon stands up and grins at everyone and exclaims darkly, "The candy is mine!" Before exiting the room at full speed.

Josh's eyes widen in horror as he tries to get up, but is pushed back down by Mary with a firm smack to the back of his head, "No candy until I've taken your temperature."

The blue eyed boy turns to Raye and plucks the thermometer out of her mouth, wipes it off on his shirt and then proceeds to check his temperature, "It's 98.7, so I can go now right?"

Mary twitches slightly, before rolling her eyes and nodding.

"Mine was 98.6 as well. Can I go too? I want to get another chocolate bar before Tweedledee and Tweedledum eat them all." Raye says, looking eagerly at the door.

"What the hell. Go ahead; and save me a Kitkat." Mary says, having given up the idea of a meeting afterwards.

Shaking her head Corrine laughs as Raye runs out of the room, "They're like kids."

A look of horror crosses Mary's face, "Oh god. Does that make me the group mom?"

Oliver and Corrine both laugh.

Cleaning the thermometer for the last time, she hands it to Oliver with a glare, "Shut it or your face is gonna freeze that way."

Snorting Oliver quiets down and places the medical device in his mouth. Taking it out and looking at the number her frowns, "Uhm... Mary? I don't think 106.2 is an okay number."

Mary's head shoots up and looks at him with concern before placing her hand on his forehead. With a frown she says, "A slight fever. You haven't been close enough to one to become infected, so don't worry about that. Go lay down on one of the cots over there, I'll be over in a moment."

Pulling Corrine into the hallway Mary closes the door behind her. Turning to the brunette with a forced neutral expression she says, "Oliver is going to be on lock down until whatever it is he has passes. Do you think you could tell everyone that?"

Corrine's expression goes from worried to angry in the span of a second, "What the hell Mary, you can't just decide things like this on your own! You're not the boss of us."

"I'm doing what's right for the group. Do you understand how bad it would be if the illness starts to spread? Can you even comprehend what could possibly happen? I'm just trying to protect everyone." Mary objects calmly, refusing to let Corrine get a rise out of her.

"This entire time you've been running around and telling us what to do. Now you're telling me I can't see my sick boyfriend? I've had enough of this!" Corrine hisses at the older girl, who steps back in surprise.

"I clear everything except for emergency decisions with the group. This qualifies as one of those times! And the only reason why I've been telling you what to do is because if I don't no one else will! Do you think I wanted to be in charge? No one else here has the composure or the patience to make this work. If I could hand it off to someone else with a good conscious I would." Mary says, her tone becoming slightly bitter.

Scoffing Corrine rolls her eyes, "Bullshit. Either way, I _will_ be bringing this up at the next group meeting," she threatens.

Meeting her gaze head on, hiding her confusion, Mary nods, "My actions are justified. I have done nothing wrong."

Corrine turns around and stalks off while Mary watches her walk away in bewilderment, "What the hell was that?" She mutters under her breath.

Shaking her head and opening the door of the chem lab, Mary pops her head in, "Hey, Oliver... Do you mind staying in here while you're sick? I don't want anyone else to catch whatever you have."

Oliver nods, "Yeah, that's fine with me. That or risk getting everyone else sick. Especially Raye... her immune system wouldn't be able to properly fight off the disease."

Mary nods and smiles lightly behind her surgical mask, "Yes... that was my train of thinking as well. Anyways, I'm going to take a short break. I'll come back in a bit to bring you some food. If you get bored feel free to borrow my laptop or some books."

The green grey eyed girl steps out of the room, rubbing her temple, "I need an Advil."

Oliver P.O.V

Why? Why now out of all times do I chose to get sick? It just had to be during the apocalypse. Irony at its finest. Why did it have to be me? This is going to be such a pain, not to mention dangerous.

Hearing the door open I look up to see Corrine entering the room and turning to me with a sweet smile, "Hey,"she says as she drops onto a chair next to the cot, "How are you feeling?"

I narrow my eyes slightly, "Corrine, you can't be in here. I'm supposed to be in isolation so I don't spread whatever I have."

Corrine merely rolls her eyes, "So what? I might get a little fever. Boo hoo. If I get sick, I'll just deal with it."

Suppressing a sigh I close my eyes. I know that Mary had been right to isolate me, and I had heard parts of their argument. While Corrine did have a point, Mary was pushing her authority a bit too far on certain matters, she is right in saying no one else wants the responsibility of making decisions.

"Look Cori, "I say, carefully wording my sentence, "It's nice that you came to visit. However... I don't want you to get sick, or anyone else either."

Watching me closely for a moment, Corrine nods and then sighs, "Fine. I'll see you later."

As she left I finally let myself relax against the cot, enjoying my rare alone time. Even though I enjoy being alone, it's now quite dangerous to be by yourself. A few moments later the door opens again, to reveal Mary holding a tray with a bowl of soup, some crackers, and a bottle of water on top. She quietly places this on the chair that was occupied by Corrine not ten minutes ago.

"How are you feeling?" She asks calmly, expertly hiding any emotions that remained from the argument the two girls had.

I deadpan, "Sick. What do you expect?"

Mary laughs lightly, before pulling off her rubber gloves and replacing them with new ones, "...I know Corrine was here."

I freeze and whisper under my breath, "Shit."

Looking at me with a sorrowful expression she says, "I can't let this go. She knowingly endangered the group. If she causes Raye to get sick, as we discussed earlier, she may never be able to overcome it."

"I... Maybe she forgot?" I offer weakly, trying to defend my girlfriend.

Shaking her head she stares me in the eyes, "You know that's bullshit."

Repressing the urge to pull out my hair, I nod quietly, "Yeah."

With a defeated sigh she looks at me with a frown, "This is going to go down the same way it always does. You will side with Corrine, Josh will stay neutral, Raye will side with me and because of that so will Leon. I don't understand what she's trying to do."

I shrug, "I don't know either. But things are getting tense and we should resolve this soon as possible or it's going to create problems."

"Trust me, I know," She replies with an even deeper frown. Looking back up at me with a determined expression she nods to herself, "I will not let Raye become ill because of this. I won't allow it."

With a long suffering sigh I watch as Mary exits the chem lab.

This is far too stressful for me.

A/N

Thank you so much to the two who have reviewed this story! I really appreciate it.

Thank you for the follow as well, tara hitge!

Things are starting to get intense for everyone.

What do think is going to happen? Please review!

*Stomach ulcers are painful sores that can be found in the stomach lining or small intestine. They occur when the think mucus is reduced, enabling acid to be able to eat away at the lining tissues of the stomach.


	4. Chapter 4

Raye Interlude

* * *

The auburn haired girl had noted the subtle changes in her best friend, despite how she tried to hide it. Mary was pissed. That frightened her honestly, the ravenette had never displayed her anger in front of her. Not even Josh had seen her completely enraged, and he had known her for ten years. Cringing, Raye decided to hide as to not get pulled into her sister figure's wrath. Watching from the bathroom of the teacher's lounge she winces in sympathy as Mary approaches Corrine.

"So," Mary begins nonchalantly as light reflects off of her glasses, "I noticed that you returned to the chemistry lab."

Not even glancing at the older girl Corrine shrugs, "Yeah, I did."

Slightly narrowing her eyes Mary pushes her glasses up and speaks in a monotone, "I thought that I said not to. I made this decision to protect the group. We were going to bring this up with the others. Why did you not wait until the ruling?"

Corrine flips a page in her book, "It's a free country Mary. That is none of your business."

The ravenette's posture slightly stiffens as her demeanor shifts from mildly irritated to deathly calm.

"Holy shit," Raye thinks as Mary glares at the other girl.

Josh had told her that it was extremely unwise to anger Mary to the point where she showed her displeasure. She wouldn't scream in fury, no, Mary would simply become quiet.

"I do not understand your reasoning," Mary hisses venomously, "Oliver is ill. If the sickness spreads to the others we will not be able to collect food nor medicine. It would become nearly impossible to to defend ourselves. Raye has a medical condition where if she becomes ill we will not be able to fix her. I have anemia, which makes it easy to over exert myself. It would be difficult for me to recover. I've been trying to keep us alive this entire time and the last thing that is needed is some fucking drama. So just drop it Corrine. Please I've had enough of this nonsense."

At this Corrine sneers at her upperclassman, "Who died and made you leader? I think you're over exaggerating things. Stop acting so high and mighty. It's almost as if you think we can't handle making plans ourselves."

Mary openly flinches at that statement and quickly conceals a pained expression before snapping back at the brunette, "I will be bringing up your apparent apathy towards the group's well being at the meeting tonight. I will see you there."

Gracefully turning her back on Corrine, Mary exits the room with a frown on her face.

Stepping out of the bathroom Raye glares at Corrine and quickly leaves as she pushes down her irritation. She slips out of the teachers lounge and starts to where Josh and Oliver usually reside; the student lounge. Knocking lightly on the door Raye opens it slightly, "Hey Josh, mind if I come in? I have something I'd like to give you a heads up about."

Josh swivels around in his chair with a grin, "Welcome to my lair, Raye. How may I be of service?"

Closing the wooden door behind her Raye drops onto one of the gray sofas with a frown, "I heard Mary and Corrine arguing. Mary seems pretty mad at her."

The brunet's easy going grin drops as he looks at Raye in disbelief. He then rolls his eyes and groans, "Corrine went to visit Oliver didn't she? I knew something like this was gonna happen."

"Uhm, " Raye nods, feeling unsure, "Yeah. That's right."

Spinning in his chair Josh shrugs, "Nothing I can do. It's not alright to ignore something like that, but this isn't a government. We don't have the authority to punish someone unless we make rules and elect a leader. That's exactly what we're trying to avoid."

Again, Raye nods, "At this rate something bad is gonna happen."

Tilting his head Josh regains his impish grin, "That's life and chance. All that we can do is deal with the cards we've been given."

The auburn haired girl blinks before choking down a laugh, "That's surprisingly deep for you Josh."

He winks, "I'm smarter than I look. Anyways, it's about time for dinner. Let's go, I bet that boyfriend of yours is looking for you."

Raye sighs, "It better not be ramen noodles again, I'm sick of those."

Neutral POV

* * *

Mary sighs as she stirs the chicken noodle soup. Fortunately the solar panels on the school rooftop had collected enough sun, so she hadn't needed to make a fire today. Walking to the counter she pulls out five bowls and places them on the white marble counter.

The ravenette tugs one of her twin tails before pulling out her phone. Contrary to popular belief, the internet hadn't been shut down. Things don't just stop because there isn't a human running them. Sure eventually it would stop but not right away. The same with electricity and water- there would surely be backup generators there so it certainly would last awhile.

She opens a chat room that survivors had recently been congregating on.

Slade224: Yo Mari, *wb. We were just discussing theories to use against the undead. You got any ideas?

Grimoire: I know that if you cover yourself in walker guts you can walk right by them

Mariko: Really? Perhaps you would then be able to pile walker bodies around a house or something and then they wouldn't start crowding the outsides.

XiaLi: that's a great idea! I wonder if it would actually work.

Grimoire: It just might. Good thinking Mari. Hmm… what else?

Slade224: Maybe like having music playing in your base to draw them. Not loudly, but in case they show up they'd be drawn towards it.

Mariko: That could draw them as well, it would be a risk.

Grimoire: But if properly executed then it could work well.

Mariko: True

XiaLi: So anyways how are your groups going? One of the members over here is being an idiot.

Grimoire: My group is alright. We're low on fuel though so our generators might not hold up for much longer. It's a huge pain.

Slade224: We lost someone the other day. He was shouting and stuff, nearly got us all killed

XiaLi: Glad you made it out alright

Mariko: Hopefully his loss won't affect your group too much. Someone on my side has gotten ill and one of the others decided to go check on him. We had an argument after that. Such a bother

Slade224: lol you think everything is a bother

Grimoire: It's true. Anyways just make sure to explain why you think it's best to keep people out of there and it should be fine.

XiaLi: Honesty is the best policy

Slade224: That was so cheesy Xia

Mariko: Lol, anyways I need to go. I'm on cooking duty, as usual.

Grimoire: K see you later

XiaLi: Have fun!

Slade224: Bye

Tucking the phone into the pocket of her black vest, Mary then turns off the stove and dishes out the soup.

Looking up as the door opens, she is surprised to see Leon without Raye accompanying him. Raising an eyebrow questioningly she then shrugs, "Help me set the table?"

"Sure." He replies nonchalantly as he picks up two bowls.

The two silently start putting the cutlery out as Raye and Josh enter the room. With a bright grin Raye exclaims, "Yay it's not ramen!"

Mary rolls her eyes, "I feel like I should make a Naruto joke."

The four sit down at the table. Leon glances at the door, "Shouldn't we be waiting for Corrine and Oliver?"

Mary shakes her head, "Oliver is not feeling well so I already brought him his portion. I'm not sure if Corrine will be joining us, we had a bit of an argument."

"She passed me in the hall earlier," Leon says quietly, "Mumbling something about authority and such. Is that what you're talking about."

The ravenette nods, "Correct. She was angry I wouldn't allow her to visit Oliver. However, she did so anyways even after I told her my reasoning."

Leon nods in understanding and decides to change the subject, "You guys want to play a round of *Magic after the meeting?"

Josh grins, "I'll crush all of you, I'm the Lord of Rolling Thunder!"

Scoffing Raye sticks her tongue out at the older brunette, "I'm the Tree Goddess, bitches bow down."

"As the Swamp Lord, I seriously doubt it." Leon says to the two of them while smiling darkly.

Pushing her glasses up so they glint in the sunlight Mary smirks, "As I am the Cleric Princess, I must object to your claims."

The four smile at each other, eyeing the box that contained their decks on the other side of the room. Corrine steps into the room effectively ruining the mood as she glowers at Mary.

"Well," Raye starts awkwardly, "Let's eat before the food gets cold!"

Corrine takes a seat next to Leon and the five start eating in silence.

* * *

This is mostly a filler chapter, just to show the interactions between everyone a bit more before the action picks up. Please excuse the long wait, I have quite a few things going on in my life as of late. Also this was to introduce the online buddies, who will be important later on. Particularly Grimoire. If you can figure out where h/she is from I will be impressed.

*The card game I referenced is called 'Magic the Gathering' and the titles that the characters were using are based off the type of decks they use.

*Naruto as you should know is an anime. The main character is obsessed with ramen.

*Ramen - Japanese noodles. Basically .

*Another note I've been meaning to say, Mary is not actually trained medically. She's basing her medical knowledge on books she has collected from around school.

To Guest: Oliver hiding something? Maybe, maybe not. You'll simply have to wait to find out.


	5. Chapter 5

"I attack Leon for six health." Raye says, tapping her creatures, "Since they have flying you can't defend against them."

Leon smiles eerily at the auburn haired girl, "I'll take the damage. Since you have damaged me I can use Circle of Protection: Green, which gives Protection from all green creatures. Sorry Raye, you won't be hitting me again unless you pull a couple of blue out of your deck. Your turn Mary."

Drawing a card, the pale girl smirks, "I play Aegis Angel, and grant Indestructible onto my Maze Sentinel. Since both of those cards have a 4+ attack, I can cast Feed the Clan and gain ten health. Next, I place down Archetype of Finality. This card grants all of my creatures Deathtouch."

The three other players groan at this, "Isn't that card a bit unfair?" Protests Raye.

Scoffing Mary pushes up her glasses, "You have a card that wipes out all of someone's creatures and then gain health from it. If I have to get rid of Archetype of Finality then you have to give those ones up. Your turn Josh."

Just as Raye is about to respond the game is interrupted by Corrine clearing her throat, "We have more important things to do than slack off and play that ridiculous card game. Either way that meeting we were going to have was supposed to be after supper anyways."

With a drawn out sigh, Josh pulls himself up from the table, "May as well get this over with," He says as he leans forwards. The brunet then slams his hands onto the table, voice becoming stern, "What the fuck you two? This isn't just some pissing contest to see who gets to have control over everything. Mary, I get that you make logic based decisions. For the most part, that's great. Not many people could keep rational in this type of situation, let alone cope with all of this. However, you do not add in people's emotions to your plans. You don't think about someone feels, just about the results. Well Mary, the ends do not always justify the means."

Corrine nods in agreement, "Exactly what I was talking about!" She exclaims, "She is so disconnected with her own emotions she can't control her own. She doesn't even try to explain herself half the time. I don't want to listen to such a conceited-"

A chair clatters to the ground as Raye leaps up from her seat, an accusing finger pointed at the brunette girl, "Shut the fuck up. Mary always puts us before herself, that's why she's the best fit for making plans. So what if she doesn't always get things right? You don't get everything right either!"

Leon stands and places a hand on his Raye's shoulder, "While Corrine does have some valid points, she is not the only one at fault here. While Mary focuses too much on rationality, you put too much emphasis on emotion."

"A balance," Mary states in realization, her eyes cast down at the table, "I had forgotten that such a thing is necessary."

"Exactly," Josh states with a sly smile, "It's like chess. Logic kills off pieces without a second thought in order to move towards a greater, final goal. Emotion, however, refuses to sacrifice even one pawn, and has a tendency to act rashly. That's why you two can't get along. You're incredibly different."

"I'm lost. What the hell are you three talking about?" Raye asks, looking between her best friend and her boyfriend.

Corrine huffs, "So what? This doesn't mean anything."

With a pained expression Mary turns towards Corrine and looks her in the eye, "I apologize for not considering your emotions before hand. I often forget to calculate… feelings into my plans."

"Tch. Fine. I'm sorry for overreacting. Oliver should be keep inside the chem room, but with certain precautions could I maybe visit him?"

"Oh hell no!" Raye exclaims, pushing Leon's hand off her shoulder and marches towards Corrine, "You don't get to act like you've done nothing but overreact. You said some really bitchy things to Mary earlier, and you completely ignored everything she said. You need to apologize for that shit too!"

"Raye, calm down. It's fine. I know she didn't mean the majority of what was spoken." Mary says, attempting to calm the hazel eyed girl.

With a sigh Corrine shrugs, "Sorry, I guess. I was kinda mean back there."

Raye's eye twitches, "I guess? I'll show you I guess!"

The auburn haired girl rushes towards Corrine and before anyone can move to stop her, punches her square in the face. Staggering backwards Corrine holds a hand up to her face and glares at the younger girl fiercely, "Bitch! What the hell was that for?"

Josh smoothly makes his way to stand beside Corrine, watching her warily for any sign she may attack Raye while Leon makes his way to Raye.

Shaking her head Mary sighs, "We really are a dysfunctional group of idiots."

Hearing her quiet words, Josh grins at his childhood friend, "Damn straight. And honestly? I wouldn't want it any other way."

* * *

Sorry about the short chapter, it's at least half a page less than my usual ones. . I only had enough time to write this much before school today. I want to get all my stories up to 5 chapters, and then I'll switch between them all. Which means one more chapter for TBM and three more for TBB. Alright, have a good day everyone! I'll try to get those up ASAP.


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